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Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts (PACA) is a bimonthly peer-reviewed journal published by the American Psychological Association (APA) in partnership with APA Division 10 (the Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts). Commencing formal publication in February 2007 (Vol. 1, no. 1) following an inaugural 2006 special issue, the journal serves as the leading scientific venue for empirical investigations into how humans produce, perceive, and evaluate aesthetic artifacts, artistic performances, and creative ideas.
For researchers navigating journal selection and manuscript preparation, PACA bridges behavioral psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and cultural inquiry. This guide outlines the publication’s governance, methodological requirements, bibliometric indexing, submission workflow, and comparative standing among peer periodicals.
| Specification Parameter | Verified Journal Detail |
|---|---|
| Full Journal Title | Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts |
| Official Acronym | PACA |
| Publisher | American Psychological Association (Washington, D.C.) |
| Sponsoring Society | APA Division 10 (Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts) |
| Print ISSN | 1931-3896 |
| Electronic ISSN | 1931-390X |
| NLM Unique ID | 101475179 |
| MedlineTA / ISO Abbreviation | Psychol Aesthet Creat Arts |
| Publication Frequency | Bimonthly (6 issues per volume annually) |
| Peer Review Model | Double-blind peer review |
| Publishing Model | Hybrid subscription (Green open access self-archiving permitted; optional Gold OA) |
| Indexing & Impact | Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), 2024 Journal Impact Factor: 2.7 |
What it is
Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts is a specialized behavioral science journal that investigates psychological processes underlying artistic appreciation, aesthetic judgment, and creative endeavor. Governed jointly by the American Psychological Association and APA Division 10, the journal provides an empirical platform for understanding cognitive mechanisms in design, performing arts, visual arts, music, literature, and innovative problem-solving.
The journal enforces scholarly rigor, requiring formal hypotheses, transparent experimental designs, inferential statistical reporting, and adherence to established author guidelines across APA periodicals. Every published paper receives a persistent Digital Object Identifier (DOI) through Crossref, ensuring permanent bibliometric citation linking.
PACA is indexed in Clarivate’s Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Web of Science, and Scopus. In Clarivate’s 2024 Journal Citation Reports (JCR), the journal carries an Impact Factor of 2.7. Crossref metadata confirms over 1,660 deposited DOIs spanning 2006 to 2026, with active similarity screening and funder disclosures.
Who runs it and what it covers
The journal is operated under the joint direction of the American Psychological Association and APA Division 10. The editorial office is led by Co-Editors-in-Chief Amy Belfi (Missouri University of Science and Technology) and Selcuk Acar (University of North Texas). Founding co-editors James C. Kaufman, Jeffrey K. Smith, and Lisa F. Smith originally established the publication’s empirical scope in 2006.
Core Research Scope
The journal’s scope encompasses three core areas of psychological scholarship:
- Empirical Aesthetics: Experimental research on visual harmony, music perception, literary processing, cognitive fluency, and neuroimaging of aesthetic reactions (neuroaesthetics).
- Creativity and Divergent Thinking: Investigations of creative ideation, insight mechanisms, psychometric assessment of creative potential, creative personality traits, and environmental catalysts of innovation.
- Psychology of the Arts: Studies addressing artistic training, dance cognition, theater production, and audience reception in educational and cultural contexts.
Accepted Study Designs vs. Excluded Formats
Scholars examining the psychology of creativity aesthetics and the arts encounter varied descriptive traditions. However, PACA enforces specific criteria regarding acceptable submissions:
- Prioritized Formats: Controlled laboratory experiments, longitudinal surveys, randomized trials, psychometric validation studies, and quantitative meta-analyses synthesizing empirical literature.
- Discouraged Formats: Per Division 10 guidance, the journal generally discourages purely qualitative manuscripts, individual case studies, personal essays, journalistic interviews, biographical profiles of artists, and unstructured narrative literature reviews lacking systematic synthesis.
How to search or use it
Authors and researchers interacting with Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts utilize structured workflows managed through APA PsycNet and the Editorial Manager submission system:
- Locate Journal Aims and Policies: Access the official journal portal via APA PsycNet (apa.org/pubs/journals/aca) or Division 10 (div10.org/paca) to verify current calls for papers, editorial guidelines, and special issue topics.
- Check Empirical Scope Alignment: Audit manuscript methodology to ensure the work presents an empirical investigation or systematic meta-analysis rather than an opinion essay or narrative overview.
- Format Manuscript in APA Style: Prepare the manuscript in compliance with APA style research paper guidelines (7th edition), ensuring correct formatting of headings, statistical symbols, tables, and reference lists.
- Anonymize Manuscript for Double-Blind Review: Because the journal utilizes double-blind peer review, strip author names, affiliations, acknowledgments, and revealing self-citations from the main manuscript text. Create a separate title page file containing complete author identification and institutional affiliations.
- Submit via Editorial Manager: Log in to the Editorial Manager system for PACA, select the appropriate article category, input metadata (title, abstract up to 250 words, keywords), and upload the blinded text and separate title page.
- Undergo Screening and Plagiarism Verification: The editorial office conducts technical screening and automated text similarity checking via Crossref Similarity Check (iThenticate). Action Editors then assign eligible manuscripts to external referees, and authors track review milestones within their author console.
Strengths and limits
Evaluating PACA requires balancing its disciplinary reputation against its specific publication characteristics.
Strengths
- Disciplinary Benchmark: Serving as the flagship journal of APA Division 10, PACA is the recognized international standard for empirical aesthetics and creative cognition research.
- Objective Review Process: Mandatory double-blind refereeing reduces reviewer and institutional prestige bias during editorial evaluation.
- Strong Indexing and Impact: Inclusion in SSCI (2024 JIF 2.7), Scopus, and NLM ensures global discovery, accumulating over 51,000 recorded citations across its catalog.
- Robust Publisher Infrastructure: APA ensures persistent Crossmark record maintenance, structured metadata delivery, and seamless bibliographic syndication via the Crossref REST API.
Limits
- Narrow Methodological Scope: Scholars employing qualitative methods, speculative theory, or narrative critique are excluded by the journal’s quantitative empirical focus.
- High Selectivity: Competitive submission volumes from across cognitive psychology, education, and neuroscience create rigorous review thresholds.
- Subscription Access Default: Operating on a hybrid open access model, PACA requires institutional subscriptions or society membership for reader access, though authors may opt for paid open access or green self-archiving per APA policies.
Alternatives
Researchers investigating creative behavior, artistic perception, and aesthetic cognition can explore several complementary peer-reviewed journals depending on their theoretical framework and access requirements.
| Journal Title | Publisher & Society | Primary Scope & Focus | Access Model | Indexing & Review Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts | American Psychological Association / APA Division 10 | Empirical aesthetics, quantitative creativity, cognitive arts psychology | Hybrid Subscription / Optional Gold OA | SSCI (2024 JIF 2.7), Scopus; Double-blind |
| Creativity Research Journal | Routledge (Taylor & Francis) | Cognitive, behavioral, and developmental creativity studies | Hybrid Subscription / Optional Gold OA | SSCI, Scopus; Double-blind peer review |
| Empirical Studies of the Arts | SAGE Publications / International Association of Empirical Aesthetics (IAEA) | Reception and psychology of visual arts, music, and literature | Hybrid Subscription / Optional Gold OA | SSCI, Scopus; Double-blind peer review |
| The Journal of Creative Behavior | Wiley-Blackwell / Creative Education Foundation (CEF) | Applied creativity, measurement, innovation, and creative learning | Hybrid Subscription / Optional Gold OA | SSCI, Scopus; Double-blind peer review |
FAQ
Is Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts an open access journal?
No, Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts is not an open access journal and is not listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). It operates under a hybrid publishing model where subscription publication is free of author fees. Authors may optionally pay an article processing charge for open access licensing or deposit accepted versions via Green open access self-archiving.
What citation and formatting style does the journal require?
The journal requires strict adherence to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition). All manuscript elements, including section headings, running heads, abstract formatting, statistical symbols, tables, and reference lists, must follow APA guidelines.
Does membership in APA Division 10 include a journal subscription?
Yes. According to APA Division 10 membership rules, active members of Division 10 (the Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts) receive an electronic subscription to PACA as an included membership benefit.
What peer review model does the journal use?
The journal uses a double-blind peer review system. Authors submit an anonymized manuscript file stripped of personal identification, institutional affiliations, and self-identifying citations, alongside a separate non-blinded title page for editorial management.
Sources
- APA Division 10 (Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts): Official PACA Journal Overview, Scope, and Editorial Board. Verified November 9, 2026. https://www.div10.org/paca
- U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) Catalog: Serial Record for Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts (NLM Unique ID 101475179; Print ISSN 1931-3896; Online ISSN 1931-390X). Verified November 9, 2026. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/101475179
- Crossref Official Registry: Journal DOI Deposit Records for ISSN 1931-3896. American Psychological Association. Verified November 9, 2026. https://api.crossref.org/journals/1931-3896
- OpenAlex Bibliographic Catalog: Source Profile for Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts (Source ID S205244196). Host: American Psychological Association. Verified November 9, 2026. https://api.openalex.org/sources?filter=issn:1931-3896
- Clarivate Journal Citation Reports: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), 2024 Journal Impact Factor Report. Clarivate Analytics. Verified November 9, 2026.
